Combined violin chin and shoulder rest.



G. L. BECKER.

COMBINED VIOLIN CHIN AND SHOULDER REST.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.14, 1908.

908,541 Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

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GUSTAV L. BECKER, OF NEW YORK,- N. Y.

COMBINED VIOLIN CHIN AND SHOULDER BEST;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

Application filed March 14, 1908. Serial No. 421,049.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUsTAv L. BECKER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, State of NewYork, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Combined ViolinChin and Shoulder Rest, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to combined chin and shoulder rests for violins,and has for its primary object to provide an improved means fordetachably connecting said shoulder rest with the chin rest without thenecessity of increasing the size of said chin rest.

Chin rests adapted to receive a detachable shoulder rest as heretoforeconstructed have been objectionable, in that they embodied a projectingpart that was objectionable to users who desired to use the chin restalone,

and it is to avoid this objection, and to provide a chin rest that maybe used as such alone, without any unnecessary projecting parts, or maybe used in conjunction with a detachable shoulder rest, that my presentinvention is primarily directed.

My invention also embodies certain other minor novel details ofconstruction, as will be hereinafter more definitely pointed out andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view of acombined chin and shoulder rest embodying my improved construction. Fig.2 is a detail bottom view of the base of the chin rest with the arms ofthe shoulder rest attached thereto. Fig. 3 is a central verticallongitudinal sectional view of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail perspectiveview of that end of the shoulder rest arms adapted to engage the chinrest. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a modified construction.Fig. 6 is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view of the same.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in the severalviews.

In the said drawing the reference numeral 1 denotes the chin rest plateproper, to which are attached two vertical posts 2, screw threaded attheir lower ends to engage sleeves 3, that are in turn in screw threadedengagement with the oppositely screw threaded upper ends 4 of a bentwire 5 forming part of the chin-rest base, to which the base plate 6 ispermanently attached by the turned over clips 7 as shown. Theconstruction of this portion of the de' vice being old and well known,no further description of its parts is deemed necessary.

The shoulder-rest plate, which may be of any suitable construction, suchas a base 8 of wood provided on its under side with a suitable pad 9,has clipped or otherwise permanently fastened thereto the circular outerend 10 of the shoulder-rest arms 11 which extend back in parallelrelation, but normally sprung a slight distance apart by their ownresiliency, and which are, near their inner ends, bent abruptly intooppositely extending portions 12, then again bent into parallel relationat 13, then bent upwardly slightly at 14, and finally bent abruptlydownward at 15, the parts 14 and 15 thus forming hooks.

The base plate 6 is slotted centrally at its front edge at 16, and hasits front edges on each side of said slot turned under to form clips 17,and also has its side edges simi-' larly turned under to form clips 18.

In assembling the parts the hooks at the inner ends of the shoulder-restarms, formed by the parts 14 and 15, are first engaged with the loops 19formed in the wire 5 by the upwardly turnedarms 4 thereof, and theshoulder rest and its arms 11 then raised to engage the oppositelyextending portions 12 of the arms 11 in the front clips 17 ofthe baseplate 6, the arms 11 being pressed together to permit the parallel parts13 of said arms to pass the side clips 18. Upon now releasing said arms11 their resiliency will cause them to spring apart and thus engagebeneath said side clips 18, whereby the parts will be firmly held infixed relation, the arms 11, when brought together, passing through slot16 in base plate 6.

It will thus be seen that means are pro vided in conjunction with theusual base plate 6 of the chin rest for detachably connecting thereto ashoulder rest and without the necessity for any extension of or materialvariation in the construction of said chin rest, whereby the latter mayeither be used alone or in conjunction with the shoulder rest, as may bedesired.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a modified construction, wherein thebase plate 6 is depressed transversely at 20 to form a groove to receivethe ends 21 of the arms 11, which in this construction are turnedtowards each other in parallel relation. The plate 6 is provided withthe side clips 18,

as in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4, but the front clips ofsaid plate are split, one portion 22 of each being bent down to lie onone side of the portion 12 of its arm 11, while the other portion 23extends over the other side of said portion 12. In assembling thisconstruction the spring arms 11 are first forced apart sufiiciently toenable the ends 21 of said arms to engage with the groove or depression20 in plate 6, and the shoulder rest 8 is then lifted to bring the partsin the position shown in Fig. 1 with the clips 18, 22 and 23 engagingthe portions of the arms 11. While the ends of clips 22 and 23 projectstraight downward, the ends of clips 18 may be inturne l slightly toretain the portions 13 of arms 11 in position, the resiliency of saidarms 11 maintaining this engagement.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a violin chin rest, and its base, the latterembodying a plate formed with side and front clips, of a shoulder rest,and its arms, the latter adapted to be detachably engaged both with saidchin-rest base and with the clips of said chin-rest base plate.

2. The combination with a violin chin rest, and its base, the latterembodying a wire bent into oppositely disposed loops, and a plate formedwith side and end clips, of a shoulder rest, and its arms, the latteradapted to be detachably engaged both with the loops of said chin-restbase wire and with the clips of said chin-rest base plate.

3. The combination with a violin chin rest, and its base, the latterembodying a wire bent into oppositely disposed loops, and a plate formedwith downwardly disposed side and front clips and slotted centrally atits front, of a shoulder rest, and its arms, the latter being bent toform oppositely extending .portions adapted to engage the front clips ofsaid base plate, parallel extending portions adapted to engage the sideclips of said base plate, and hooks adapted to engage the loops in thewire of said base, the whole adapted to be detachably retained inengagement by the resiliency of said shoulder-rest arms.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

GUSTAV L. BECKER.

Witnesses AUGUST F. HASKE, FREDERICK SOHLUETER.

